Getting giddy

OMG. One week to go. Seven days. From today. Yes, then we'll be able to proclaim that "It's football time in Tennessee!"

The cynic in me (the same one who saw the Homecoming debacle with Wyoming last season) adds: How long till proclamation turns to resignation this season?

We'll worry about that when the time comes. For the time being, I think it's safe to say one of the most exciting, interesting and weird off seasons in UT football history is drawing to a close. I for one am getting a little giddy at the prospect of attending the first game in the Coach Lane Kiffin era.

Speaking of giddy, the bicycle pictured here gives me a similar feeling. It was provided by my friend Gregg McAllister, a frequent BOVB contributor who spotted it near the Chicago Tribune building in downtown Chicago recently.

"It's a pretty sweet Orange bike, as you can see," Gregg said in his e-mail to orangevehicles@gmail.com. "The only possible explanation is that it must belong to some Vols fan. All other explanations defy reason."

It is indeed a perfectly Orange vehicle (and dadgum if the seat ain't Orange, too!). Let's hope the 2009 season turns out as beautifully as Gregg's photo.

Jeff

London calling

I gotta jet to work asap but I wanted to post this sweet Orange cab my brother Rod captured in London. WTG, bro! Another first for the BOVB.

Jeff

ps - i am not ONE BIT jealous my brother is in London. Nope, not at all. How much jealousy do i have? Zilch, nix, nada, none. You get the idea.

Are these vehicles?

So GoVolsXtra.com posted some big news today: Jonathan Crompton will be Tennessee's starter this season.

I just don't know what to make of that. Last year Crompton laid egg after egg on the field. But maybe that was because of the crappy offense by UT's former offensive coordinator, whose name shall never be uttered again on the BOVB.

I guess only time will tell.

Likewise, I'm not sure what to make of these photographs. They were provided by regular contributor Lauren Smart of Colorado. They are clearly a pure, Vols Orange. But are they vehicles?

The chair swivels, which means it can take you in circles. The couch, though? Hmm, I guess you can take naps on it, and naps can transport us to anywhere our dreams can take us.

I'll leave it to BOVB readers (all eight or nine of you) to decide.

Jeff

Wowee

Check out this sweet ride submitted by the TU's master copy chief dude (yes, that's his official title) Steve Cotter. I have no idea what it is, not being a car guy myself. Ideas, anyone?

Jeff

OOPS, I did it again

Knowing that football season is right around the corner, I'm going to take it easy on the blog the next couple of weeks and just post pix here and there. There'll be lots to say come Sept. 5.

So check out this cute Chevy Aveo provided by my friend Chris. She became aware of the BOVB only recently (when I bored her to tears about it) and asked if OOPS (Orange Other than the Pure Stuff) cars are eligible.

But of course!

Posting pix of OOPS vehicles (like anything in Gators or Longhorns colors) helps not only display the spectrum of Orange but also how much better Vols Orange is compared to poser wannabes like Florida and Texas.

So this pic rocks because it does all that and allows me to use the headline "OOPS, I did it again."

Jeff

The Spirituality of Orange

Back in the olden days of the blog (January 2009) I sought a mental diagnosis of my attraction to Orange. (Read that post here).

The question has re-arisen on Facebook, where my friend Kellyn posted this comment: "I was looking at TBOVB and I was thinking...why Orange? Is there an explanation somewhere, or is the attraction to Orange subconscious?

But she didn't stop there. Kellyn then posted a link to a Web site that explained the Orange chakra. (Click here to see what chakras are.) It turns out this chakra is centered in the abdomen and is primarily connected to bodily/sensual functions. Here's what it says:

Consciousness: This chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with food and sex. It is about the body's communication to the Being inside, about what the body wants and needs, and what it finds pleasurable. The person's ability to have children is also associated with this chakra...."

In Hinduism, if I'm not mistaken, this is known as the sacral chakra and it is also associated with Orange. This even came up during the recent Indian Independence Day parade at UNF. A Hindu gentlemen told me that Orange is huge in Hinduism. Hindu swamis and renunciates wear the color.

Why? Because Orange "symbolizes fire" and "the burning of the ego, their former selves, and their personal wants." (See more on that by clicking right here).

I can't rule any of this out, but at the end of the day I think the blog was mainly inspired by the fact my college colors are Orange and White (with a little blue and black thrown in here and there).

To celebrate, I am posting these pix from that Indian Independence Day celebration I attended with a friend. I loved that they had a white van adorned with Orange bunting, and that so many people were wearing Orange. In fact, if you didn't look closely, you could almost conclude this was a group of Vols fans fixin' to celebrate the fact that it's almost football time in Tennessee.

Jeff

Vols Classics

I remember waaaaaaay way way back when Erik Ainge was UT's quarterback. I used to gripe about him all the time. He ran too slow. Couldn't scramble worth a dern ("dern," ha ha, that word cracks me up). Didn't have a strong arm, etc. Then he graduated and the 2008 season came and Tennessee lost 2 million games (including homecoming to Y-effing-Oming) and, you know what, I realized I actually missed Erik Ainge.

Erik, Erik, wherefore art thou, Erik Ainge?

The answer came in today's GoVolsXtra.com story about how ol' Eric's doing in the NFL. Turns out Erik has won the third-string QB job with the NY Jets. Good for him. I hope he goes on to become the next Joe Namath. I'm certainly going to watch the Jets more closely this season.

In the meantime, we just gotta hope Coach Lane Kiffin turns around the remaining QBs (I forget their names) in time to not horribly suck in 2009 (just regular, every day suck would be fine). I'll be at the opener against Western Kentucky; I'm going to celebrate like it's 1999 if we win that one.

OK so now comes the "transition" where I have to segue to the vehicle. Here it is: Ainge is a Vols classic. And so's this beautiful VW van supplied by my awesome nephew Patrick Stewart up in Knoxpatch. It's hands down one of the best OVs published on the blog yet and Patrick's first.

WTG, dude.

Jeff

Why we heart CLK

Check out this story about Lane Kiffin. Man, I dig that guy. Anybody who gets under Urban Meyer's skin is a hero to me. Ditto w/re to the DB's who lead Georgia and Alabama.

But that's not why we're here. We're here today to celebrate this cute little Orange vehicle discovered by my brother. You could argue it's really not a vehicle at all, because it doesn't transport anyone. But it would be a perfect transportation device for a kitten, so I'm counting it.

Meow.

Jeff

WTG, Andrew

My nephew Andrew who lives in Knoxvegas sent me these three pics today. WTG, dude.

Also WTG to the UT athletic department for selling more season tix than anyone thought they would after last year's football debacle. That means when me, my brother and my college buddy and his family won't be alone in cavernous Neyland Stadium when the Vols take the field against Western Kentucky on Sept. 5.

GO VOLS!

Jeff

NFL v College football

Yeah, it was fun watching the Titans beat Buffalo and loud-mouth, whiney-baby wide receiver Terrell Owens in the Hall of Fame game last night. Of course, neither the game nor the 21-18 score really mattered because it was a pre-season contest.

And let's be honest, it also didn't matter because it's the NFL. Who can give ultimate, total loyalty to a league whose teams get up and move around willy nilly? Plus, we all know that real football — the best football — is college football.

Still, it's good to see that Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin, aka CLK, Kiff, Kiffy, the Kiffster, Herr Kiffinmeiester, etc, is bringing some NFL flavor to the Vols this year. It's cool because the experience of these NFL-trained coaches could, hopefully, give our guys an edge on the field this season (and we know they need every bit of help they can get).

Here's what UT superstar/All American safety Eric Berry told GoVolsXtra.com (the Knoxville News-Sentinel's most excellent UT sports site): "Our whole staff treats us like pros. I like the way that feels. They treat us with respect, everything is organized and, it's hard to explain, but it's just a different feeling.''

Hey, if he's happy, I'm happy.

And a happy feeling deserves happy vehicles. So enjoy these sundry Orange OVs provided by Colorado's Lauren Smart, who is one of the blog's most consistent contributors.

Jeff

PS -- the Porsche at top, Lauren swears, is Orange. Just doesn't look it in the pic. Also thanks, cuz I think the bottom pic is the BOVB's first Audi.

If the shoe fits . . .

OK, these pix have been festering on my iPhone for months, so today's the day for my occasional Orange Shoe Roundup. I took all the shots, including those from various ladies shoes stores in the area (I was with female friends at the time, I swear). The Adidas are worn by Internet expert Jonathan Bennett, the Nikes by Adam "Totally" Aasen. The pair at the very top are modeled by TU columnist Tonyaa Weathersbee (Note, click HERE for proof that shoes are considered vehicles on the BOVB).

Jeff

Throw back

OK remember what I said in the last blog or two about awesome bloggage to read these days? Case in point is the latest "Ask Griff" column by Mike Griffith on GoVolsXtra.com. He gets all into the super-physical practices Coach Lane Kiffin, aka CLK, has the team doing. Check out this sweet quote:

It was a very physical day. It was the first time with shoulder pads on, an extremely long practice, extremely physical practice....We're going to try to bury them, but they're not letting us...We try to make (practices) as physical as we can, even without the pads...Sometimes you almost get a little worried and want to slow them down, but we need to learn how to hit so we're not going to slow them down yet.

Then Griffith adds: "Kiffin's old-school mentality should give him an edge - you're not going to Out-Nick Saban or Out-Urban Meyer."

I'm sure whatever college you went to, this is an exciting time as college football ramps up. But for Tennessee fans it's getting crazy. At least for me it is, and I love this old school approach CLK is taking to practices.

Speaking of old school, check out this badass Orange vehicle submitted by Abel Harding. Abel said he spotted it approaching the Main Street Bridge in downtown Jacksonville. It's obviously a newer model automobile, but it's kinda tricked out to look old school NASCAR or something. Good shot, dude.

Jeff

Good Orange readin!

If you haven't been reading the various Tennessee sports blogs that last few months, well it's time you started. We've moved past the twiddling-our-thumbs months and most of the speculative stuff and all the crazy Kiffin-pissing-off-Urban-Meyer themes. We's gettin' into the meat now, y'all. Examples include:

* Rocky Top Talk, one of my favs. They're running a "Big Orange Rountable" asking questions like, do you think Eric Berry deserves consideration for the Heisman. Cool stuff.

* VolNation these days keeps a running list of the hottest stories and threads about UT sports.

* GoVolsXtra.com. This is the Knoxville News-Sentinel's online Tennessee sports center, and it rocks. Great videos and blogs and stories posted every day. No Vols fan should ever be without it.

* UTSports.com. It's the athletic department's official site and it's the go-to place for schedules and wallpaper and stuff like that.

I'm sure there are other great sites and if you know of any please send me a link. I'll be glad to reference them and read them.

Anyway, a lineup of blogs/sites so exciting deserves excellent pix. So here are three pics from different contributors:

* The top image was provided by my nephew Andrew, who said he has no idea what it is. But it's OK because it's Orange and has wheels.

* The Dodge pickup truck was provided by Lauren in Colorado, who's a regular. I love the black stripe because it reminds me of the black touches the Vols' uniforms have.

* And the VW was provided by Ohioan Dawn Weber (who swears it's Orange -- so we'll take her word for it.)

Jeff

Let's get this thing moving!

I was just fixin to start writing about how super awesome GoVolsXtra.com has some great stories on their site right now about UT football practice, which opened yesterday. It's great seeing the players in helmets and Orange jerseys.

Then I glanced at my watch, which says "8-05." That means it's exactly 30 days until Tennessee takes on Western Kentucky at Neyland Stadium. Yee haw. This has been the longest, most painful-yet-exciting off season I can ever remember.

Apparently that's what Coach Kiffin's been saying (on Twitter and elsewhere) and it's the message he sent the players by ordering full-speed-ahead practice on Day One.

“I just think that’s how you build a team that’s going to be physical and is going to be able to run the ball and is going to be able to play such a tough schedule," he told GoVolsXtra.com. (See the rest of the story by clicking HERE.)

I know the rest of Vol Nation joins me in let's get this thing going, y'all!

And I figured the perfect pix to get us moving in the right direction are these two supplied by my brother Rod, who lives in Knoxville. He always comes through with cool stuff and these two are perfect because they mirror the tough, physical and fast qualities CLK is trying to build into our team.

GO VOLS!

A trike from the keys

One of our favorite things in the whole wide world here at BOVB HQ is when we launch a whole new category of vehicle. Our first boat, huge. Our first plane, hugerer. Etc.

So check out this'n: an Orange trike captured by Hannah Hatcher waaaay down in the Florida Keys. It's most choice. Here's what Hannah had to say about it:

"I see this thing all the time in Pig Pine Key, but of course I never have a camera ready. I was able to capture the elusive creature in the CVS parking lot today. Enjoy."

Enjoyment underway.

Jeff